TUESDAY, MARCH 13, 2007

COMING WEDNESDAY

First Looks -- and much more!!!

PAINKILLER JANE EPISODES

Sci Fi has released titles, writers, directors and loglines for the intitial episodes of Painkiller Jane, the new live-action series based on the comic-book character created by Jimmy Palmiotti and Joe Quesada.

The series, which stars Kristanna Loken, launches on Friday, April 13 with an episode written by show-runner Gil Grant.

300 SETS IMAX RECORDS

IMAX Corporation and
Warner Bros. Pictures on Tuesday announced that 300: The IMAX Experience
posted a record-setting $3.6 million of the $70,855,301 that the film
grossed at the domestic box office during its opening weekend.

300 played in 62 domestic IMAX theaters, while 300 played in 3,103 locations across the country.

Directed by Zack Snyder, 300 launched midnight Friday with sold-out performances in 57 IMAX locations, which added to the film's opening weekend per screen average of $58,000, a new record for a Hollywood IMAX title. 300 also shattered every opening weekend record for an IMAX Hollywood simultaneous release, playing to
sell-out crowds around the country.

300's box office domination led to 48 IMAX theatres reporting opening weekend records, and it also posted $700,000 in IMAX theatres on Monday.

The film is booked in
more than 25 international IMAX theatres, the first of which, Taiwan,
opened this past weekend.

"We are beyond excited about the way moviegoers are responding to this incredible film," said Dan Fellman, president of domestic distribution at Warner Bros. Pictures. "The IMAX Experience offers audiences an ultra-exciting way to take in the thrills of the battle of Thermopylae, and we look forward to more crowds filling theaters in the coming weeks."

WILDSTORM HORROR MOVIE TITLES NOW SPECIALS

DC Comics on Tuesday announced that, starting in June, WildStorm's titles based on popular horror movies from New Line Cinema - A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th and Texas Chainsaw Massacre - will change from monthly comics to a series of specials and mini-series.

"This new approach to these franchises should provide retailers with more opportunities to introduce them to new readers," says Hank Kanalz, VP - General Manager, WildStorm.

The first of the specials will be Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Cut! in June. Written by Will Pfeifer, with art by Stefano Raffaele and a cover by Darick Robertson, Cut! takes place thirty years after the gruesome events of the infamous Texas Chainsaw Massacre, as film school grads come to Travis County to document the Hewitt clan. But has the terror really ended? Has Leatherface really faded into urban myth?

Texas Chainsaw Massacre comes to end as an ongoing series with issue #6, in stores on April 18.

A Nightmare on Elm Street ends with #8 in June. WildStorm will continue publishing A Nightmare on Elm Street, starting with a six-part mini-series scheduled for later this year.

Friday the 13th ends with #6, in stores on May 9. WildStorm will continue publishing Friday the 13th, starting with a two-part Special, "Pamela's Tale" in July.

TMNT IMAGES

Warner Bros. has released 33 images from scenes of TMNT, the computer-generated animated movie arriving in theaters on March 23.

Here's how the studio describes the film:

"After the defeat of their old arch nemesis, The Shredder, the Turtles have grown apart as a family. Struggling to keep them together, their rat sensei, Splinter (Mako), becomes worried when strange things begin to brew in New York City. Tech-industrialist Maximillian J. Winters (Patrick Stewart) is raising up an army of ancient monsters, and only one super-ninja fighting team can stop them -- Leonardo (James Arnold Taylor), Michelangelo (Mikey Kelley), Donatello (Mitchell Whitfield) and Raphael (Nolan North)!

"With the help of old allies April O'Neil (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Casey Jones (Chris Evans), the Turtles are in for the fight of their lives as they once again must face the mysterious Foot Clan, who have put their own ninja skills behind Winters' endeavors."

Click on the thumnbails for larger images.

DESPERADO TO SELF-PUBLISH

Desperado Publishing announced on Tuesday that it will begin publishing under its own banner with eight solicited titles in July.

Desperado is ending its two-and-a-half-year publishing partnership with Image Comics. Black Mist #4, solicited for May, will be the final co-publishing venture between the two publishing companies.

"It was just time," Desperado founder and president Joe Pruett said. "I want to publicly thank Image Comics for their faith in our company and the enthusiasm that they've shown for our line over the last few years. I have no doubt in my mind that the decision to partner with them at our onset has allowed us to survive the turbulence of being a small, specialty press in today's marketplace. That being said, I'm excited about the possibilities that lay ahead for us.

"Some people may feel that we're being overly aggressive with our upcoming publishing schedule -- 8-10 titles per month -- but the fact is that we're not really a new company -- we've been publishing for over two years now -- but rather an existing company that is expanding by just a few titles per month. We're just not going to be listed under the Image banner any longer.

"We're trying to ensure that we're not just throwing unknown commodities out there either. Each title we introduce has an identity about it, whether it's the creative team or the series itself. Fans will have an idea of what the series is about -- such as Negative Burn, Deadworld, Sabre or Dr. Syn -- or what the creators have done in the past -- such as Ron Marz, P. Craig Russell, Bryan Talbot or Brian Stelfreeze. I think this is what separates Desperado from other companies of similar size as we're dealing with known commodities for the most part.

"People have asked what our identity is as a publisher. We believe in providing a home for top writers and artists, with a few talented newcomers mixed in, and allow them to create those personal projects that they've been dying to do. I'd like to think everything we do is of the highest quality, but quality is subjective, that's understandable. The key word I would like to focus on is diversity. The market needs to be diverse if it is to grow in all of the exciting new avenues that are presenting themselves to our industry. We plan to be a part of that movement by allowing our creators to be as diverse with their projects as they need to be, as long as the quality remains high."

MARVEL COMICS' SECOND PRINTINGS

Marvel Comics on Tuesday announced sell-outs and second printings for Civil War: The Initiative and Iron Man #15.

The second printing for Civil War: The Initiative -- by Brian Michael Bendis, Warren Ellis and Marc Silvestri -- will be in stores on March 28. The 48-page book will feature an interior image by Silvestri for a new cover.

The second printing of Iron Man #15 will be in stors on April 11. It will have a new cover featuring artist Roberto De La Torre's splash page from the issue.

The issue, written by Daniel Knauf and Charles Knauf, involves Tony Stark beginning his new job as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the reemergence of one of Iron Man's greatest foes.

Click on the thumbnails for larger images.

BRIEFLY

* Kerry Washington, who is returning as Alicia Masters in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, will be a guest on CBS' The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson on Friday, March 9. Ioan Gruffudd, who returns as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, will be a guest on the same show on Friday, March 16.

COMICS CONTINUUM BACK ISSUES

In case you missed The Continuum's coverage over the past month, here are some links. Click on the date to get the day's full report.

* Thursday, March 8: Fallen Son: Death of Captain America titles, Marvel First Looks, Family Guy and Ape Entertainment's new anthology.